A son was cut from his dead mother's £1 million fortune after he stopped
visiting her and neglected to send her flowers on Mother's Day, a court
heard today.

Kenneth Hart, 68, failed to visit his mother Phyllis, 86, for at least a year and left her feeling “alienated” and increasingly “angry and bitter” at his actions, it was claimed.

Consequently, his sister Susan Burbidge, 47, then became more influential over their “vulnerable” mother and was handed control over her fortune, worth in excess of a £1 million, the High Court heard.

Today, Mr Hart, and his brother Paul, 49, were locked in an extraordinary legal row with their sister over lucrative cash and property transfers executed by their mother in her will before she died in November 2008.

Sir William Blackburne was told that Mrs Hart was left her fortune following the death of her 83 year-old husband, Ernest, in 2005 after he had founded a successful marquee business, Ernest Hart and Sons.

Mr Hart, from Poole, Dorset, who had worked for his father for more than 20 years, told the court that while his mother was a "good woman and housewife", she "could not make up her mind about anything".

She sought advice over every aspect of her life, ranging from choosing her own curtain to having someone look after financial matters, the court heard.

He said that two years after his father’s death, she had become increasingly influenced by his sister, to such an extent that "any suggestion you made to mother would have to be passed by Susan",

Family tension was already mounting after Mrs Hart announced she had transferred part of the company's business premises to Mrs Burbidge, also from Poole, which he admitted had left him "annoyed".

But the court heard that he had succeeded in "alienating" his mother, who had become increasingly "angry and bitter" at his apparent indifference.

Paul Emmerson, representing Mrs Burbidge, accused him neglecting his filial duties including his failure to send her flowers on Mother's Day and posting a Christmas card "which didn't even have the word mother on it".

Mr Emmerson said Mrs Hart, also from Poole, was "entitled to feel upset and to distribute her property as she wanted" and had a right to "seek sanctuary" with her daughter who had cared for her and also worked for the family business.

Mr Hart admitted he had gone at least 12 months without visiting his mother and made an effort to have “done more” for his mother despite the long hours and weekends he was working.

But he dismissed claims that he had neglected her or had created a bitter rift between himself and his mother and insisted he had "never stopped caring for her" or loving her.

“We were never a close family and could go for weeks and weeks without seeing one another, but we were never at loggerheads,” he told the judge.

Charles Auld, for the brothers, argued that Mrs Hart’s financial decision “call for an explanation” and urged the judge to rule them invalid unless her daughter could prove she was acting without her influence.

But Mr Emmerson dismissed suggestions the mother was a “vulnerable old lady” and had started enjoying life since the death of her controlling husband.

"She was strong and independent of thought, and perfectly capable of standing up to Paul Hart and being annoyed by his actions and the apparent indifference of Ken Hart," he said.

The brothers' argue that upon their mother’s death, their father’s fortune was transferred to Mrs Burbidge and her husband, Brian, subject to an "unsigned loan agreement" that the couple would pay back £410,000 into her estate.

They are also asking to overturn a £290,000 cash transfer to the couple and the transfer of the proceeds of sale of the Hart family home where their mother had lived before moving into a nearby farm shortly before she died.